The Bruce McCarty Community Impact Award is granted to those who have demonstrated a commitment to building a better future for this region. It is presented by the East Tennessee Community Design Center with the goal of celebrating and perpetuating both the quality of life in East Tennessee and the qualities of leadership of Bruce McCarty.

Bruce McCarty, FAIA, was an American architect, who practiced with many prominent firms before becoming founder and senior designer at McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects. During a career that spanned more than a half-century, he designed some of Knoxville’s iconic landmarks and was the city’s most dedicated champion of Modern architecture. 

In 1969, Bruce McCarty, then-President of the local AIA, returned from a trip to the community design center in Philadelphia and gathered roughly forty local professionals to discuss the need for such a center in this region. On April 15th, 1970, the East Tennessee Community Design Center (ETCDC) was founded. 

The award was designed by Doug McCarty and produced by Ernie Gross Designs. The East Tennessee Community Design Center appreciates the creative contributions of both.